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Mulcahy v. Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.

Action Over Contractor Misclassification Is Dismissed; ERISA Preempts Benefits Claims

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MEMORANDUM DECISION and ORDER I. INTRODUCTION On August 6, 2019, plaintiff Todd Mulcahy (“Mulcahy” or “plaintiff”) filed this action in Supreme Court, Oswego County, against defendant Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (“BMS”) alleging that BMS had denied him compensation and other employment benefits by mis-classifying him as an independent contractor in violation of state law. On November 14, 2019, BMS removed the case to federal court. According to the notice of removal, the exercise of federal-question jurisdiction was appropriate because a number of Mulcahy’s state law claims were preempted by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”), a broad federal law that governs employee benefits. On December 15, 2019, Mulcahy amended his pleading to add additional claims and to name Johnson Controls, Inc. (“JCI”) as a second defendant. Thereafter, BMS and JCI moved separately under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure (“Rule”) 12(b)(6) seeking partial dismissal of plaintiff’s thirty-eight count amended complaint. Both motions have been fully briefed and will be considered on the basis of the submissions without oral argument. II. BACKGROUND¹ Mulcahy, a New York citizen living in Oswego, received a degree in Individual Technical Studies from Canton Agricultural and Technical School in the early 1980s. See Am. Compl.

1, 10. From 1982 to 1993, plaintiff worked as a “drafter” for companies like Black Clawson, Welch Allyn, and General Electric. Id. 10. In 1993, a temporary employment agency sent Mulcahy to interview for a computer-aided drafting (“CAD”) job at BMS, a New York corporation with an office and manufacturing facility in Syracuse, New York. Am. Compl.

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